Types of News Stories, Features, Editorials

Cards (57)

  • Scope or Origin
    • Local news
    • National news
    • Foreign news
    • Dateline news
  • Local news - report of events that takes place within the immediate locality.
  • National news - news that takes place within the country.
  • Foreign news - news that takes place outside the country.
  • Dateline news - news preceded by the date and the place of origin or place where it was written or filled.
  • Chronology or Sequence
    •  Advance or Anticipated
    • spot news
    • coverage news
    • follow-up news
  • Advance or Anticipated - news published before its occurrence, sometimes called dope or prognostication. the reporter foretells events expected to occur at a definite time in the future.
  • Spot news - news that is gathered and reporter on the spot. it deals with unscheduled information demanding immediate publication. the reporter himself is an eyewitness to the event that took place.
  • Coverage news -  news written from a given beat. both spot news and coverage news are good examples of first hand-reporting.
  • Follow-up news - a sequel to a previous story. having a new lead of its own, it is a second, third or subsequent chapter of a serial.
  • Structure
    • straight news
    • news feature
  • Straight news - news that consists off facts given straight without embellishment. its main aim is to inform. it uses the summary lead and is written using the inverted pyramid structure.
  • News Feature - it is also based on facts, but it entertains more than it informs.
  • Single-feature story - the story deals with an isolated event
  • Several-feature story - several facts are included in the lead in their order of importance.
  • Treatment
    • fact story
    • action story
    • speech report
    • quote story
    • interview story
    • hard news
    • soft news 
  • Fact story - this is a plain exposition setting forth a single situation or a series of closely related facts that inform. it is written in the inverted pyramid design.
  • Action story - a narrative of actions involving not mere simple facts but also of dramatic events, description of persons and events, perhaps testimony of witnesses as well as explanatory data, sports games, etc.
  • Speech report - a news story usually written from a public address, talks, and speeches.
  • Quote story - speeches, statements and letters, and to some extent, interviews when reported, are regarded as quote stories.
  • Interview story - a news report written from an interview
  • Hard news - events, such as killings, city council meetings and speeches by leading government officials, are timely and are reported almost automatically by the media.
  • Soft news - events, such as lunch to honor a retiring school custodian or a boy scouting jamboree are not usually considered immediately important or timely to a wide audience.
  • Content
    • routine story - celebrations, enrollment, graduation, etc.
    • police report - accident, fire, calamity, crime stories, etc.
    • science news
    • developmental news
    • sports stories
  • Minor forms
    • news brief
    • news bulletin
    • news-featurette
    • flash
  • News brief - a short item of news interest, written like a brief telegraphic message, given mainly the result with details
  • News bulletin - it is similar to the lead of a straight news story. its aim is just to give the gist of the news.
  • News-featurette - this is a short news feature usually used as filler.
  • Flash - a bulletin that conveys the first word of an event.
  • A feature is a longer piece of writing than a news story
    • will often cover an issue in greater depth than a news story would do
  • Feature journalism is creative journalism
  • Punch - a short, snappy sentence in a paragraph by itself. the second paragraph gives more detail.
  • Background - a descriptive lead that focuses on the circumstances surrounding the event, not on the participants.
  • Direct Quote - used when the speaker's words summarize and dramatize the event.
  • Question - to be avoided unless it directly raises the issue. if the reporter knows the answer, he should simply tell the reader.
  • Descriptive - concentrates on the five senses, showing readers what the event or person looked like.
  • Contrast - plays up opposites to sharpen the focus on the news.
  • Allusion - plays to the readers knowledge of literature, history, or mythology and delights in their resemblance to current events.
  • Parody - relates the situation to son, poem, quote, book, or movie by paralleling well-known words.
  • An editorial is the official stand of the paper on a relevant development or issue.